Confused from Hampshire

[Little bird]

I have just bought a Merc CLC 220 cdi se 2009 auto panoramic. GREAT ! except it has no Sat Nav. My trusty old Saab had ! So I thought I would treat myself, should get one for a hundred or so ? Then I realized it would sit on the dash and have a trailing wire how naff ! ? So I go to amazon and ebay. Yes ! there are some that fit in a CLC. for £400 ! Then I had to find someone who could fit it. Only he says make sure it does not come from China. . . Why are they naff ?? He wants to sell me one for £800 plus £100 fitting. Is he right, only I'm pretty broke now, Any advice ??

 

[BlackC55]

www.comand.co.uk can help.

 

[Troon]

If you're pretty broke now, do you need a sat-nav?

 

[V12]

You can conceal the wire for any removable Nav.

The cheapest and best option purely for nav.

 

[Little bird]

Yes, I get lost without one !

 

[Little bird]

Sorry, I don't understand you ?

 

[Halcyon Days]

When you say that the unit is from China - is it one of those "Make you've never heard of" jobs for about £100 that offers sat-nav of Europe, mp3 and all that?

It won't work. Simple truth! They are normally of terrible build quality and the sat-nav won't pick up GPS etc etc..

Your cheapest option:
Smart phone with an app such as CoPilot (£29 for western Europe) and a cradle from eBay
Or a TomTom / Garmin from Halfords etc
And put up with the wire.

If you want a good new head-unit that will have a working radio, and good amp and all that, you're talking £650 odd I'd say.

 

[Little bird]

Hi Halcyon, Thank you for taking the trouble to reply.
Looking on Ebay and Amazon there are a few units that are recommended for a CLC, at around £400. I very nearly bought one. I then found a fairly local guy that would fit it. Only he started saying that if it is made in China it might not last long ! He could fit a more reputable make for just under a grand. Is he right ?

 

[AMGeed]

Your cheapest option:
Smart phone with an app such as CoPilot (£29 for western Europe) and a cradle from eBay
Or a TomTom / Garmin from Halfords etc
And put up with the wire.

If you get a TomTom or Garmin from Halfords, they can hardwire it for a very small outlay. I had one in my old E280 and it took the guy around 45mins to do the job. IIRC it cost under £40

 

[AMGeed]

You can conceal the wire for any removable Nav.

The cheapest and best option purely for nav.

Exactly. Any car audio outlet can hard wire it.

 

[SimonsMerc]

www.comand.co.uk can help.

This. Talk to them.

 

[markjay]

This. Talk to them.

+1 for www.comand.co.uk

 

[Halcyon Days]

Hi Halcyon, Thank you for taking the trouble to reply.
Looking on Ebay and Amazon there are a few units that are recommended for a CLC, at around £400. I very nearly bought one. I then found a fairly local guy that would fit it. Only he started saying that if it is made in China it might not last long ! He could fit a more reputable make for just under a grand. Is he right ?

There's a thread further down this section of the forum about a guy who bought one of these Chinese units - It didn't work - at all.
He got his money back, but he had a lot of faffing trying to understand why it didn't work.
You know the old statement "Too good to be true"? This is the case with these Chinese units....
But...
There are sometimes exceptions to this rule! There are companies that supply and fit in the UK - here's an example on eBay:
www.ebay.co.uk AUTORADIO-DVD-GPS-Sat-Nav-BT-Ipod-Player-MERCEDES-BENZ
That is for a CLK, but maybe worth contacting the company so you can see the unit in action and judge for yourself? (Lots of people would be interested in your feedback if you actually saw one of these in the flesh!)

Lots of people will suggest comand.co.uk - and so do I, but I don't imagine that they will be able to help you for £400 - don't take my word for it though, ask them!

and yes, your fitter will be able to fit a "branded" unit for less than £1k, but units start at £550, + fitting

 

[Major774]

If your are short of cash, I suggest using your phone for the time being.

Save up some cash then get a decent install from Comand.